The FBRP Water Quality Group has been active since the Partnership began, creating maps, looking for partners with whom to collaborate and considering watersheds in which we could work.
For 2022 we will prioritize:
- Pursuing connections with cities of Fletcher, Asheville, Montreat and Waynesville, and community members related to focal areas
- Looking for partners to address newly listed impaired waters in the City of Asheville, the FBR between Long Shoals Rd. and the Craggy Dam, and the Swannanoa as it heads toward Asheville
- Continuing outreach to the agricultural community to get them involved in the Partnership
- Considering the construction of a display reporting live river conditions in the River Arts District
Past accomplishments include:
- Reducing stormwater impacts from cities and towns by improving streamside buffers and advocating for green infrastructure–Partners met with City of Asheville to discuss stormwater issues; have established SWTF that will begin to tackle this. Group received DEQ Watershed Action Plan training for virtual plan development that will enable us to better evaluate stormwater effects.
- Developing relationships with agricultural and working lands representatives to help farmers improve practices related to runoff, erosion, and stream impacts, and to preserve land value.
- Evaluating the development of new funding sources to support such work
- Selecting three focal areas to work on: Cane Cr., Richland Cr., and Upper Swannanoa
- Holding field trainings on how to input “impact” data into DEQ system
- Meeting bimonthly to report on activities, discuss projects and various groups’ results and
- Providing and uploading information about the watershed and WQ on the FBRP website
- Uploading information to develop a Watershed Action Plan for Cane Creek in Fairview, Richland Creek in Waynesville and the Upper Swannanoa River in Black Mountain and Montreat.
Membership
- Co-chair – Anne E. Keller, retired US EPA, RiverLink Board, akeller11@comcast.net
- Co-chair – Tim Fox, NCDEQ, tim.fox@ncdenr.gov
- Jane Margaret Bell–Environmental Scientist
- Michelle Pugliese–Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
- Mary Roderick–Land of Sky Regional Council
- Ann Marie Traylor–Environmental Quality Institute
- Caitlin Worsham–Haywood Waterways Association
- Zan Price–Jennings Environmental
- Dave Penrose–Penrose Consulting
- Michelle Pena Ortiz–Environmental Quality Institute
- Renee Fortner–RiverLink
- Jason Mays–U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Rachael Hoch–North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
- Jason Doedderlein
- Jason Green–Duke Energy
- Michael Knoerr–NRCS
- Luke Etchison–North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
- Greg Jennings–Jennings Environmental
- Suzanne Klimek–Haywood Waterways Association Board Chair
- Maria Wise–Mills River Partnership
